After recovering from 13th Anniversary Jewbelation ale I wanted to give Shmaltz Brewing Company another shot. I’m a sucker for “limited release” beers and I just happened to find one by them. In keeping with the fact that just about all Bocks end in “tor” this beer is affectionately called Rejewvenator. You have to check out their website to read about all the history packed into this beer since I only have so much space.
Reading the label in it’s entirety I made a marvelous discovery. This brew is a “double” brew of two different styles of beer. It is a Dopplebock and a Belgium-style Dubbel. The ingredients for this brew are rather impressive; 5 different malts, 5 varieties of hops, 3 yeast strains, and date juice. This only made me eager to dive into a glass.
I could smell and taste both styles in this beer. Pouring it brought with it the big malty profile similar to EKU 28 while the Abby and Trappist yeasts gave it that spicy, peppery quality known in Belgium strong ales. The 7.8% ABV was masked wonderfully and it had a very full-bodied mouthfeel. Both styles made the other one more tolerable only increasing the complexity of this beer. I have to admit that I’ve never had a date (the fruit) before, but its addition gave it a historic sweet aroma/flavor making my imagination wonder of what beers were like in the Ancient Near East. I assume dates are in the same family or class as raisins and prunes so I’ll use that as a reference point. If you like rich fruit flavors this beer is for you. I picked up raisins, prunes, apples, pears, and well, dates. It had a spiciness to it and the hops came close to balancing out the malts.
I’d say this limited beer is a must try simply for its originality and complexity. Throw your taste buds for a loop and go for a ride back in time.
ABV: 7.8%
Grade: A-
Hey Tom. Thanks so much for review #2. Really glad you enjoyed Rejewvenator. Get ready in 2010 to see new incarnations of both Jewbelation and Rejewvenator. We’ll be pushing Jewbelation up to 14 (that’s right, 14 malts, 14 hops, 14%) and we’ll try our hand brewing Rejewvenator with grapes. Keep your eyes out. Have a happy and healthy New Year. L’Chaim!! ~Zak
I like seeing real people from real craft breweries out on the web, interacting with the public, taking part in meaningful beer discourse. I’ll drink to that.